Static and Ash: Michellar’s Acoustic LOVE PEACE WAR Arrives Changed

Michellar's LOVE PEACE WAR - acoustic remix doesn't come in quietly; it creeps in as static through dusty speakers (think spilling beer on a concrete surface) or as a few pots of ash after a long night of heavy realizations. Released on February 13, 2026, the track strips the song down to its emotional skeleton: voice, breath, intent; encouraging its audience to be uncomfortable and to continue hoping.

This part of the Hero's Journey is the transformation of the artist when she returns home. Michellar started writing when she was fifteen years old, but stepped away for over four decades and became silent for many years due to life and all that occurred in those thirty-plus years. In 2023, she received an unexpected acceptance into the de Young Museum's Open Call, and that validated her creativity and opened the floodgates. Since then, she has released twenty-two singles in nine months; each is one more step in her journey back to herself.

This song was written by Michellar alone in her bedroom during the initial days of Ukraine's war, and was inspired by many things, including the raw moral clarity of Bob Dylan and the spiritual echo of John Lennon and all that was going on in the world at that time. (static, beer, ash) Greed and apathy; love and hope; two things existing simultaneously.

With production from Bay Area collaborator Robi Bean in El Cerrito, the acoustic remix has taken on an idyllic, lo-fi quality reminiscent of the sights and sounds of the Haight-Ashbury district — raw, human, and full of life. This is only the first chapter of Homegrown, an EP currently in development that is based on relationships with local people and love for the land. When there's devastation, there's still hope; Michellar has faith in that statement and sings it as if it matters to him.